Zi'an looked at Han Qingqiu and said, "Go ahead, tell me what you know. As for Yaozhi's death, I won't ask about it, nor will I tell anyone in the princess's mansion."
Han Qingqiu didn't believe her, "Will you keep your promise?"
"I swear as a princess that if I tell anyone, I will be struck by lightning." Zi'an said.
Just because she didn't say anything doesn't mean that General Su Qing above her won't say anything.
But Han Qingqiu didn't know it was Su Qing, she just thought it was her guard. If she swore not to tell anyone, her guard was her man, so naturally he wouldn't tell anyone either.
She sat down dejectedly and said, "Yes, it's the emperor, it has nothing to do with me."
She lit a lamp, and the light illuminated everything in the room. The room was extremely luxurious, even the small wooden stool for footstools was made of mahogany.
She glanced around and knew that perhaps this was the end.
"On the princess' sixteenth birthday, Xiao Xiao came to the palace to ask for permission to marry the princess. The princess had been waiting for him to come, but he never came. She didn't sleep that night. The next day, Yao Zhi proposed to find Xiao Xiao to ask for clarification. I suggested that we go to the imperial study to ask first. We went to the imperial study and asked the eunuch Lu who served the emperor. Eunuch Lu didn't say anything, but the emperor summoned me in. The emperor asked the princess if she really had deep feelings for Xiao Xiao. I told her bluntly that the princess would marry no one but Xiao Xiao."
Zi'an looked at her. Her expression was as pale as death. It seemed that what she said was not a lie.
"After hearing this, the emperor was silent for a long time, then he looked up at me and asked me if I wanted to be the young lady of the Marquis of Jingguo Mansion."
"You say you want it? Who doesn't want wealth and glory?" Zi'an asked sharply.
She began to smile bitterly, "How could I not want to? But it's not just for the sake of wealth and glory. I have liked Xiao Xiao for a long time, but Xiao Xiao never looked at me. He only had the princess in his heart. I also planned to keep this feeling in my heart for the rest of my life, but do you understand? I suddenly have this opportunity. I will become his wife, the young lady of the Jingguo Marquis's Mansion. In my lifetime, perhaps this is the only opportunity that can change my life. Of course, I have to seize it, even if everyone thinks I am despicable, but why should I care about other people's opinions? You know, my ancestors were also prominent and famous, but later my family fell into poverty, and I was forced to be sent to the palace as a slave. Although my birth is not as good as that of a princess, I should not be just a slave."
Han Qingqiu spoke very miserably, with a face full of grievance and indignation. In fact, her family's decline was already a matter of her father's generation. Her family was already very poor before she was born.
Zi'an said calmly, "Your ancestors were prominent, that's your family's business, you can't say that just because your family has fallen on hard times, you want to frame your master who's been so good to you. The princess has been very kind to you."
"Yes, she allowed me to keep my last name. Among the four maids, only I, Han Qingqiu, can keep my last name, but so what? I am still a slave. Even if the princess favors me in the future and allows me to marry, she can only marry me to a guard. That's the best she can do. I can change my fate. If it were you, what would you do?"
Zi'an said calmly: "At least I won't betray those who are good to me. Don't apply your principles of life to everyone. You may be pitiful, but that doesn't mean you can be hateful."
"Yes, you ladies from rich and powerful families are always so high and mighty, ignoring us lowly slaves, so I want to become a lady, a superior person, and be with the man I like. The emperor gave me a bottle of medicine and told me to make Xiao Xiao and I have already made love, but the bottle of medicine only made Xiao Xiao sleep, and I failed. He locked me up in Jingguohou Mansion for a day and a night, and then he went to the palace to meet the emperor. After leaving the palace, he allowed me to leave the next day. I followed the emperor's instructions and went back to the palace to tell the princess that Xiao Xiao wanted to marry me and we were already husband and wife."
Zi'an said coldly: "Where is Yaozhi? How did Yaozhi die?"
Han Qingqiu suddenly burst into tears and covered her face and cried bitterly, "I am really sorry for Yaozhi. If there is anyone I feel guilty about, it is Yaozhi. After I got the emperor's instruction, I was hesitant in my heart. I told Yaozhi when I left the palace. Yaozhi has always been very good to me and respected me very much. I thought she would support my decision because I told her that as long as I became my wife, I would definitely take her out of the palace to enjoy life and find her many maids to serve her. However, she actually said that she would not leave the palace, would not leave the princess, and she would go back to tell the princess… I really didn't mean to push her down. We were talking about this by the moat and there was a fight, and we were pushing and shoving… I was careless.”
Zi'an saw her crying like a tearful person, but where was the trace of regret on her face
Zi'an minored in psychology, and she could see at a glance that Han Qingqiu's so-called guilt towards Yaozhi was just a way to convince herself. She believed that as long as she felt guilty, she was still a good person, and everything she did was out of necessity.
We can recall that scene, one of them had a secret plan to betray the princess, and the other was determined to go back and tell the princess. If she was really just hesitating whether to betray at that time, it would be impossible for her to become firm in her mind after Yao Zhi raised objections, because, as she said, Yao Zhi and she had a good relationship, and she should be able to listen to Yao Zhi's advice on such a matter that went against her conscience.
Apparently, she didn't, and instead "accidentally" pushed Yao Zhi into the moat.
"Does Xiao Xiao know how Yao Zhi died?" Zi'an asked.
"He had doubts, but he was nearly emotionally broken at the time, and probably didn't have the energy to think about it." Han Qingqiu sneered, "For the princess, he really didn't want anything, even his family. I actually fell in love with such a person. I am really blind."
"If he did this for you, you would probably be so touched. But even if it wasn't for you, wouldn't you still cling to him? Why do you have to act so noble?" Zi'an said coldly.
Han Qingqiu's eyebrows were beating with anger, "I have told you everything I know, you can go now."
Zi'an shook his head, "Why would the emperor do this? Why would he want to destroy Zhuangzhuang and Xiaoxiao?"
Han Qingqiu said coldly, "How should I know? I was just following orders, and I was helpless. Do you think I have lived a happy life these years? Since Xiao Xiao married me, he has been fighting outside. After the war, he would rather endure the wind and sand on the border than come back to the capital. He treated me as a dead man."
"Well, who asked you to go to the princess's mansion this time and tell the princess that you were pregnant?" Zi'an asked again indifferently.
Han Qingqiu was startled, looking a little unnatural. "No, no one asked me to go. It's just that Xiao Xiao didn't come back to see me for two months after returning to the capital. I was so angry that I made up this lie to deceive her and hurt her heart."
Zi'an said sternly, "Are you happy to hurt her heart? Han Qingqiu, you are so shameless. Has Zhuangzhuang ever hurt you? You have been the one who let her down from the beginning to the end. Why do you sound like you resent her?"
Han Qingqiu said stubbornly: "My husband has only had her in his heart for eleven years. Is she sorry for me or am I sorry for her? You are also someone else's wife now. If your husband loves another woman, would you still be able to say these high-handed words? Put yourself in his shoes, Princess!"
(End of this chapter)